Unsavoury practices in catering.

In November last year the Chef Hermes Blog got wind of a prestigious vacancy which had apparently cropped up. Nothing new there really, but at the time something wasn’t quite right about it. So being a little bit resourceful we emailed the person whose job was allegedly being hawked around, this was Executive Chef Paul Collins.

Several emails were exchanged and Mr Collins made his position clear that

I can quite categorically deny the rumours that I am leaving The Grove, nor have I expressed a wish to leave since I took over in April.

Irony of this situation is that the agency Mr Collins had used to facilitate the job at The Grove, were now allegedly approaching chefs and managers the world over. Mr Collins himself told the Chef Hermes Blog,

You are not, by the way, the first person to ask this. I had the same question from someone in Hong Kong last week, so it’s nice to know that I can squash these rumours.

The Blog has also been told that a General Manager of a property in the Middle East allegedly received an email, possibly from the same agent, allegedly trying to source an experience Executive chef for The Grove.

Sadly it appears that Mr Collins has allegedly recently departed his position, but it raises questions about the unsavoury practices that exist within catering. The blog is also aware of yet another profile position which is being recruited for whilst the position is filled. Why does the catering world seem to think itself above the law? After all the HR department must have been aware of this tactic and realised possible consequences maybe even a possible case of ‘constructive dismissal’ may exist.